Mehbooba faces appraisal as CM as Anantnag votes in byelection

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is all set to be rated for her performance as the people of Anantnag vote on Wednesday for the Assembly byelection, which fell vacant after the demise of her father, former CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The poll results will show if the People’s Democratic Party has been able to retain its grip on South Kashmir following its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Opposition leader Omar Abdullah, who has been campaigning for his National Conference candidate, has said this election has given people the opportunity to choose between Kashmir and Nagpur, suggesting that the present dispensation is swayed by the diktat of the Rashtritya Swayamsewak Sangh, the ideological mentor of the BJP. Omar alleged that every decision of Mehbooba Mufti was being dictated from the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. He told the voters that voting for Mehbooba would mean voting for the RSS.

While NC candidate Iftikhar Misgar is not a political heavyweight, Congress has not been doing any extensive campaign for its candidate Hilal Ahmad Shah.

Mehbooba Mufti is trying hard to retain her late father’s Assembly seat.

She has promised the people of Anantnag that she would realise the former CM’s dreams.

The separatists have already given a poll-boycott call and have targeted Mehbooba Mufti for her alleged high handed administration.